The Creole spoken in Haiti is slightly different from the creole spoken in Martinique, Guadeloupe, St Lucia, Seychelles etc...
Creole speakers from any of these places should be able to understand at least 90% of spoken conversation.
Creole speakers from any of these places should be able to understand at least 90% of spoken conversation.
Not entirely true. While the creole speakers of the various Caribbean islands DO have some degree of comprehension, that understanding is not close to complete and varies between islands anywhere from 70-85%.
ReplyDeleteAs a general rule of thumb, Dominicans and Lucians are the closest, followed by Martinique and Guadeloupe to a lesser degree, and Haitians are generally isolate due to the fact that they're geographically the furthest away.
It is, however, very easy for speakers of one Creole to pick up on another variety easily. Guadeloupe and Martinique have always had a large Haitian, Lucian and Dominican population and they pick up the Creole there, while Dominica has a growing Haitian population of its own which has also integrated into the Creole culture there.
for example:
ReplyDeleteHaiti: M'prale lekol demen
Martinique: Mwen ké alé lekol demen
Dominica: Mwen kay alé lekol demen
the actual vocabulary is mostly the same, but the words used for grammatical aspects like tense, etc. are different between Haiti and the smaller islands
Haitian: ap ---> Lesser Antilles: Ka
Haitian: pral----> Lesser Antilles: Ké/Kay
Haitian: Gen/Geyen---->Lesser Antilles: Ni
Haitian: Li ------> Lesser Antilles: I/Li
Haitian: Ou(plural)----> Lesser Antilles: Zot
Once you understand the basic differences it becomes very easy for speakers of one creole to understand another.
Thanks for the input my friend. Your contribution is very much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteChapo ba!